This is a significant achievement, and I hope that it will encourage other middle-income countries to follow suit and make dolutegravir available as part of their national HIV programs.

The Price of Dolutegravir is Still to High

According to the government, Brazil successfully negotiated a price equivalent to what they were already paying for a first-line regimen drug, around US$500 per person, per year. However, although this seems like an achievement, the price of dolutegravir in Brazil is still far higher than it needs to be.

A few months ago, Aurobindo, a generic manufacturer from India announced that they would produce and sell the generic version of the drug for US$44 per person, per year. This is a reasonable price for an essential medicine, but sadly will only be available at that price in some developing countries. As the prices of medicines increase along with the number of patients, the health services of many middle-income countries are under huge strain.

Civil society can put pressure on drug companies to reduce prices by challenging unmerited patents. There are currently three outstanding patent challenges on dolutegravir, by civil society in India. If successful, this could bring much needed competition, and the price could tumble. Our partners in the Make Medicines Affordable consortium are working to bring down the price of HIV drugs in their countries. To find out about their work and stay in touch with other breakthroughs and successful strategies, visit our website at www.makemedicinesafffordable.org, like our facebook page, and sign up to the newsletter.

Othoman Mellouk, is the Access to Medicines and Intellectual Property Lead for ITPC.